It’s been a little while since I posted but tonight I’m determined to post something. I get into “funks” every now and again so my creative outlets loose steam at times (ie: photography and blogging about music) BUT, I then have to look to music and photography as inspiration and begin anew. Thus the theme on this post, “Begin Anew”.

And what delighted music do my ears hear upon going over to one of my favorite websites: www.hypem.com but a wonderful song called “Eyes Wide Open” by Gotye. From Wikipedia findings, seems he has had 2 hits down under, “Eyes Wide Open” and a song called “Leanalilgivinanlovin” which is another bright musical gem. I would say from these 2 songs that Gotye is infectious and fun!

Here are the 2 songs via YouTube:

The video for “Eyes Wide Open” is pretty amazing!

And the video for “Leanalilgivinanlovin” is fun and animated too!

I would say this music has fit the past week’s weather in SF and gives hope to my friends and family in the Midwest and East coast that the sun will shine again!

And I also want to plug my friend Richard aka “Disco Pup” has he has added some great music which he dubs “Nu Disco“! Here is the link to his podcast, the current one titled “Aumentare”. I am also posting the release statement he sent me via Facebook describing the songs he has included in the podcast. Enjoy!!

As previously noted, I had intended to do an unabashedly disco mix featuring reboots of some classics, plus explore a genre that is being called Nu Disco. Then Sharam released “Fun”, and I knew I had to do something else. So, this became the 20th episode in the Burning Man Trilogy.

Take Me Over (Mylo Remix) – Cut Copy

Thanks to the boys at DOPE and Ben Holder for alerting me to new music from Cut Copy. This is the first single off the new album, Mylo giving the track an electro spin.

Complete – Code Talkers

Niko Its A Bad Dream (Sean Palm and Matt Xavier Gravity Pimps Remix) – One Of Them

These two are arguably examples of minimal, a genre I’ve rarely featured. It’s almost chill-out, but good beats and bass keep them from nodding off. After the mix was done, I actually had to go back and write down the times of the transition, as I couldn’t tell.

One of two tracks brought to my attention by dj spaceotter, who wrote “I love the slinky bassline, the stereo panning effects, and the great build.”

Brainstorm – Re-Zone

From a George Acosta compilation, this hints at the progressive and trancey beats to come.

Fun (Funhouse Mix) – Sharam featuring Anousheh Khalili

And here, 35 minutes in, we have the reason this set exists. It starts out wonderfully typically Sharam, great drum loop, deep bass, perky synths… then it stops, cold. And when I first heard it, I thought there was a glitch in the file itself. Then Anousheh begins to sing, and the song rebuilds itself around her. And sets you up for the rest of the set.

Thrive (EDX’s Fe5tival Mix) – EDX

The other track dj spaceotter alerted me to: “This is the kind of epic progressive/trance that reminds me of earlier, more optimistic times in electronic music–the ennobling, joyous nature of progressive & trance in the late 90s. Nice synth triplet chord progression over a sustained choral note.”

Die For Love (Original Vocal Mix) – Klingenberg and Dave Darell

The mix is called “Original Vocal”, but something tells me there’s a version with actual verses somewhere.

Belfunk (Original Mix) – Sasha

I’m going to pick up pretty much anything Sasha puts out. He is easily one of the most original dance music producers out there, stretching genres and challenging listeners.

The Far Side (Original Mix) – Soundprank

Beautiful – George Acosta featuring Fisher

A couple of fun proggy/trancey tracks that continue to ramp up the energy.

9 PM – (Dj J3H 2011 Remix) – ATB

A nice little reboot of the classic ATB track. Reminds me of sweating my ass off at the Factory.

From 2001! I know! Be.Angeled is a German film that follows a group of young people as they attend Berlin’s Love Festival. The vocalist Rea would go on to sing for Paul van Dyk on his “Reflections” album.

Many thanks to DJs Pete Savas, Matt Consola and spaceotter. And thanks to Randy Moore who continues to push and promote.

v.3.46http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/discopup-presents-danceteria/id386464658
The first Danceteria of 2011 features an exploration of progressive, tech house and minimal tracks. But true to the cover art, the set takes a sharp turn about 35 minutes in with a brand new track by Sharam. After that, it’s nearly non-stop switch-backs and rabbit hops until the very trancey last 20 minutes.

Found this clip on one of my favorite music blogs: Dipped in Dollars (http://dippedindollars.com/)! Sometimes a song is just fun, infectious and in this case, just a little crazy!! So in those cases, you can forgo meaning and depth!

Let’s just say there are 10 Asian kids in wonderful choreography, brightly colored clothes and as the blogger “Danger” said “pretty sure one of the dudes is wearing a sweater dress” how can you not like this video and dance around your office or where ever you are!

Also, what I like about this is that you finally have tweens not being overtly sexual or in scantily clad clothing just to get attention! Not that I’m a prude but sometimes I feel kids under 15 just shouldn’t be modeling themselves after hookers. Ok, maybe I’m a little bit of a prude in my old age lol.

If you are of above a certain age, you may remember a tune called “If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body Would You Hold Against Me” by the Bellamy Brothers (yes, the title was that long). I believe that is where the writers of this song came up with the idea of Britney’s new single “Hold It Against Me”.
Production credits for this song are Max Martin and Dr. Luke, who recently teamed up with Ke$ha and Katy Perry. In my research on Max Martin, he was born in 1971 so this would make sense that HE remembers the Bellamy Brothers song. He has done a string of earlier Britney music including “…Baby One More Time” and “Oops…I Did It Again”. He is also credited with recent hits by P!nk (“Raise Your Glass”) and Katy Perry (“California Gurls”).

Dr. Luke, born in 1973, worked with Britney on “Circus” as well as Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” and the unfortunate Miley Cyrus hit “Party in the U.S.A.”

As for Britney’s “Hold It Against Me”, the line that makes me think of the Bellamy Brothers’ song is “If I said I want your body/ would you hold it against me”. Pretty similar huh? But at least the songs do not sound the same given that the Bellamy Brothers are a 70’s country duo. Brit’s version is the usual club pumping, typical sounding Brit we have come to love and expect. This song is catchy and will bring her back into a positive spotlight. I am looking forward to the dance remixes as I always am when it comes to today’s “divas”.
Can Britney sing? Yes but in a constrained, sing from her throat kind of way. But I never expect Britney to be hitting Mariah notes. She has found her niche which is an ex-smoker club singer with heavy production. I LIKE the song but don’t LOVE the song. This song is very heavy on the club effects, lots of echoing and harmonies. It has a euro-trance feel to me at times so I’m sure there will be a million remixes working out all these themes.

I have listened to this song multiple times for the “can I hack this more than 5 times” feeling and I can handle it beyond 5 listening sessions. So gay men and 14 to 17 year olds, get ready cause your Britney is back!

Britney’s album is expected to drop this coming March and I am looking forward to other songs beyond this first song.